1. Field of the Invention
The present inventions relates generally to the field of telecommunications and, more specifically, to a system and method for providing redundancy in a telecommunications switch.
2. Background Information
A continuing trend of convergence between the circuit-switched public switched telephone network (PSTN) and packet-switched networks, such as Internet Protocol (IP) networks, has created demand for systems capable of interfacing with both types of networks while supporting a large number of diverse applications. Such applications include toll-free calling, wireless/wireline prepaid calling, directory assistance, voicemail, call centers, conferencing and many others. In order to support such diverse applications, it is generally necessary to provide a capability for performing DTMF tone generation/detection, voice recorded announcements and similar communications services. Such basic capability, conventionally packaged as a “card” or printed circuit board which interfaces with an industry standard bus, has been commercially available for some time from a variety of vendors including Intel Corporation and NMS Communications.
However, marketplace demands indicate that greater scalability, density, smaller packaging and greater performance/cost ratios are needed in order for telecommunication carriers and other service providers to operate profitably and to be in position to rapidly deploy new applications which represent new revenue sources. Also, due to high client standards, there are great demands placed on telecommunication carriers to maintain consistent availability despite failures that may occur within their systems or networks.
Network failures have been addressed in the past with many methods of redundancy. Having multiple connections or multiple data servers can provide for backup connections in the event a transmission line somehow becomes unavailable, or a data server fails. Usually, this level of redundancy is provided by the Internet carriers, and is outside the control of the telecom companies operating their own hardware applications, such as a converged services platform (CSP). An example of a CSP is described in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/693,625, filed on Oct. 24, 2003 by Locascio et al. for a MEDIA RESOURCES CARD WITH PROGRAMMABLE CACHING FOR CONVERGED SERVICES PLATFORM, which is presently incorporated herein by reference.
In the past, should the telecommunication hardware fail, such as for example, a telecommunications switch (telecom switch), a technician may have to physically remove the many connections found on the switch, remove the failed switch, insert a functional switch, and reconnect all the previously removed connections. This procedure could result in network downtime where live calls are lost, and could create the possibility of having the many connections incorrectly arranged, causing further downtime. A solution to these issues has been to duplicate all the connections and components on two redundant hardware systems, generating twice as many cables and connections. While this solution maintains an active system should one unit fail, replacing the failed unit still requires physically removing all the connections from the failed unit for replacement.
As a result, there is need for a redundancy system for use with telecommunication hardware that minimizes network downtime and reduces the possibility of human error, such as incorrect connections while replacing a failed unit, and also provides for a simplified method and apparatus for providing redundancy arrangements.